


The Parent Trap

by whitecrossgirl



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Boarding School, F/M, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28054620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitecrossgirl/pseuds/whitecrossgirl
Summary: Honour Lannister and Sapphire Tarth are two twelve year old girls with absolutely nothing in common. Aside from their parents' weird choice in names; the fact they're enrolled in the same boarding school and sharing the same dormitory room and the fact that they are completely identical.As they put the pieces of their past together and uncover their shared family secret, they come up with the ultimate plan to reunite their parents. Which for identical twins, shouldn't be too hard, right?
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 64
Kudos: 109





	1. Highgarden Boarding School for Girls

Honour Lannister stared glumly out of the window as her father’s black Balerion drove up the motorway. This was not how she planned to spend the next three months but no amount of arguing, begging and pleading could force Jaime to change his mind. Stubbornness was a Lannister family trait and one that all of them had had in spades. As the car slowed to a halt, caught in the traffic leading off from the motorway, Jaime reached over and tried to put a hand on her shoulder. Honour shook it loose and glared at him. 

“Don’t give me that look.” Jaime said as the traffic moved and he turned his gaze back out at the road.

“Why? You’re getting rid of me after you promised you wouldn’t.” Honour retorted with all the ferocity her twelve year old self could muster. Her dad had always kept his promises. Except for this one, the biggest one of all. He had promised her that he would never send her to boarding school. And what was he doing? Sending her to boarding school. 

“I’m not getting rid of you; this is something that has been a tradition in our family for years. Your grandfather wanted you to go in September; I convinced him to at least wait until Myrcella finished. I didn’t expect her to drop out and run off with her boyfriend.” Jaime explained; they had had this conversation at least a thousand times over the past few weeks. Ever since Myrcella returned home for the Spring holidays and announced she was dropping out of school and eloping to Dorne with her boyfriend/fiance. Before Cersei, Tywin and Robert could stop her; the eighteen year old was living in Sunspear and married. And single-handedly ruining her younger cousin's life.

“So you were going to get rid of me in September.” Honour retorted. She didn’t care about tradition. She didn’t care that every Lannister girl was educated at Highgarden Boarding School for Girls. She didn’t care that Highgarden was the best school in Westeros. She didn’t care that Queen Daenerys Targareyn herself was a former student. All she cared about was that her normal life had been ripped away from her; her school, her friends, her home; in order to be dragged halfway across the country to enroll at a snobby, prissy boarding school. 

Jaime sighed. “I never wanted you to go. But this is too good of an opportunity for you to pass up. You’re clever and I know you’ll do well. All I want is what’s best for you.”

“What’s best for me is to go home.” Honour retorted. She wasn’t stupid; she knew that her grandfather and aunt already viewed her as the family outcast. The result of a disastrous marriage Jaime had had in his youth; her mother had never even been mentioned. There had been no contact; no letters, the only image she had was half a torn photograph she had stolen from Jaime’s bedside drawer. All she knew was that her mother had the same blue eyes as her. Everyone else in the family had green eyes. Jaime wanted her to be treated with the same respect as her cousins and in his view, allowing Tywin to pay for her education at Highgarden was a way of achieving that. 

“It won’t be that long until summer and as soon as you’re there, you won’t want to come home.” Jaime reassured. “Just give it a try. Just until the summer; if you’re still unhappy and you hate it there then I won’t send you back.”

“Grandfather will.” Honour said. That was how she wound up in this situation. Grandfather had bellowed and thundered until Jaime, who initially was on her side, gave in. Everyone always gave in to Grandfather. 

“No.” Jaime said forcefully. “He won’t.”

Honour looked at her father skeptically and then at the satnav that was directing them. Ten minutes away from Highgarden. Ten minutes until her fate.

“Sapphire Tarth! Headmistress Tyrell wants to see you!” Lyanna Mormont; one of the Third Year girls informed her. Sapphire set her book on the table in the First Year common room and headed for the headmistress’ office. As she walked, Sapphire tried to think about what she could have done to warrant a meeting with the headmistress. Usually any issues were handled by the Year Head or Deputy Heads. Only the most serious were handled by the Headmistress. Sapphire never got in trouble; she had been awarded a scholarship to study at Highgarden and she hadn’t dared to do anything that would risk her losing her scholarship and being sent home. She had returned from the Spring holidays just this morning, so if something had happened over the break, it couldn’t have been blamed on her. She was studying hard and doing well in her classes, so it couldn’t be an academic issue. Only three other girls in her year were scholarship students and none of them had had a meeting with the headmistress. 

Before she knew it; Sapphire was standing outside the Headmistress' office and she knocked nervously on the door. 

“Come in,” Headmistress Tyrell called and Sapphire nervously opened the door. She had never been inside the headmistress’s office. It was a bright, airy room with a thick carpet on the floor. The eldery headmistress was sitting behind her oak desk studying a letter. She looked up as Sapphire approached her desk. “Take a seat.”

“You wished to see me, Headmistress?” Sapphire asked nervously. The headmistress was known for her quick wit and sharp tongue. Stories of her reducing inspectors, governors and even members of staff to tears were widespread around the school. There was a reason why her nickname amongst the girls was the Queen of Thorns. The school’s crest was a golden rose. Every rose needed thorns. 

“Don’t look so nervous, child. You’ve done nothing wrong.” Headmistress Tyrell remarked and Sapphire looked at her puzzled. “I have called you here to inform you that we have a new student starting at Highgarden. As you are the only First Year girl who is not sharing a bedroom, the new student will be lodging with you.”

“I see,” Sapphire replied; unsure of why a new girl was starting so late in the year and why the headmistress had to inform her that the new girl would be staying with her. 

“You will,” Headmistress Tyrell stated mysteriously, leaving Sapphire feeling even more confused. “Now tell me, how is your mother?”

“She’s very well Headmistress. She asked me to thank you for your support when Granddad was sick.” Sapphire replied. Her Granddad had had a heart attack just after Sevenmas and although Sapphire had been initially unable to go home to see him, the headmistress herself had arranged for her to take a week to fly home and see him. 

“Nonsense, it was the least I could do.” Headmistress Tyrell replied with an airy wave of her hand. “She’s quite marvelous, especially in the Nymeric Games.”

Sapphire smiled at the compliment. Her mother had been in the Nymeric Games in her youth and had fought for women to be allowed to compete in the same sports as men. She had won several medals for fencing, boxing and javelin. Nowadays she worked as a journalist but even that didn’t afford for the several tens of thousands that Highgarden charged for its education and board. 

“Do you know when the new girl will be arriving?” Sapphire asked and the headmistress checked her watch. 

“I believe she arrived half an hour ago; she should be settled into your room by now.” Headmistress Tyrell said; allowing herself a moment of amusement at the shocked look that flickered across Sapphire’s face.

“Oh...Ok…” Sapphire said slowly; getting the distinct impression that she was being set up for some reason. “May I go now?”

“I dare say you can, and Sapphire, do try to make her feel welcome.” Olenna Tyrell said; watching the young girl leave her office. As soon as the door shut, she looked back at the forms she had been reading. Both Sapphire Tarth and Honour Lannister did indeed have the same information provided by their parents and very interesting information it was too…

Honour looked around the room she had been assigned. Myrcella had told her that First Year girls shared bedrooms in order to make the transition to boarding easier. Yet as an only child, Honour always had her own room and being made to share with a stranger only made her feel worse about being dumped in Highgarden. One half of the room clearly belonged to the other girl; there were books and trinkets on the shelves; the desk had a mixture of hair products and nail polish and school supplies, a teddy lay on the pillow and it was the teddy that caught her attention. A soft, well loved, tawny brown bear with a blue ribbon around its neck with a carefully embroidered ‘S’ on the foot. 

She had one just like it stowed away in her suitcase with a red ribbon around its neck and a carefully embroidered ‘H’ on the foot. 

“Weird,” Honour muttered to herself as she unzipped the larger of her suitcases which contained her clothes and shoes. As she bent over the case, rummaging for her bear, she heard the door open behind her. Honour turned and her mouth dropped open.

This was weirder.

Sapphire had stopped by the common room to grab her book before returning to her room to meet her new roommate. The book, one of the newest novels by Tyrion Lannister, was nestled under her arm as she unlocked the door. As she shut the door, Sapphire had a glance at the girl’s shoulder length golden hair before she turned to face her. Sapphire’s mouth dropped open and the book fell to the floor. 

Stunned, confused and more than a little freaked out; the two girls stared at one another in stunned silence. It was like looking into a mirror. Indeed, the large mirror on the wall reflected their image twice over. They were almost completely identical. Same large blue eyes, same golden hair, same delicate round face, same height, same build, the same smattering of freckles across their cheeks. The only difference between them was the length of their hair. Honour’s brushed past her shoulders and Sapphire’s was almost to her waist. 

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then they both did at the same time. 

“Who are you?”


	2. Two halves, one whole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wanted to skip over the prank war as it didn't really fit the premise of the story, making them roommates from the start was my way of skipping to the isolation cabin part of the film. I hope you like it.

“I’m Honour, Honour Lannister.” Honour said first, staring at her doppleganger in disbelief. This was beyond all levels of freaky and she had no idea what was going on. 

“I’m Sapphire, Sapphire Tarth,” Sapphire replied and shot Honour a confused look when the snide comment or smirk she had expected didn’t appear. “Huh, normally people make fun of my name.”

“I can’t really judge,” Honour shrugged. She had heard far too many quips and wisecracks about being a Lannister named Honour. They weren’t funny then and they weren’t funny now. “Besides, I think our names is the least weird part about all of this.”

“Yeah, this is just… this is spooky.” Sapphire said as she picked up her book. “Wait, your surname’s Lannister? Are you related to Tyrion Lannister?”

“Yeah he’s my uncle.” Honour said, smiling at the book in Sapphire’s hand. “You like his books?”

“I love them. His Winter War series is amazing.” Sapphire gushed before composing herself. There were pressing matters at hand. “How can we look so alike? It’s scary.”

“It is, like this whole thing wasn’t weird enough. I wasn’t meant to come here.” Honour said as she turned back to her suitcase and resumed pulling out clothes, including her new uniform. An impossible idea was spouting in their minds; an obvious but impossible explanation. One they weren’t ready to face just yet.

“Why not?” Sapphire asked curiously. It was weird having someone, even someone who didn't look like her clone join so late in the year. Maybe if they knew why Honour had been sent, maybe they could work this out. 

“My dad promised he wouldn’t send me. All Lannister girls attend Highgarden but I didn’t want to go. So when Myrcella ran away to Dorne with her boyfriend, Grandfather shipped me off here. Like it’s my fault she ran off.” Honour explained crossly as Sapphire nodded. She had heard some of the girls gossiping about a Seventh Year who had supposedly dropped out. The rumours had ranged from her running away to Essos, being pregnant and actually having been expelled but claimed she’d dropped out as a cover up. 

“That’s so unfair. Your Grandfather sounds awful.” Sapphire said sympathetically. It had been almost the opposite in her family. Her granddad hadn’t wanted her to go but had accepted it would be a good opportunity for her. She couldn't imagine him wanting to send her away. 

“Not really. Grandfather’s just Grandfather. What sucks is my dad let him do it. We’re so close and it feels like he just ditched me.” Honour explained as she sat on the bed. Sapphire sat next to her and awkwardly put an arm around her. For a few moments they sat in silence before Honour stood up and resumed unpacking. “So what’s the school like? Like what lessons do we have, what happens with lunch and dinner and stuff? This says I’m in 1A, so is that my class?”

“Well, breakfast starts being served at half seven in the hall. Lessons start at nine so you’ve got time. There’s about forty or fifty in a year group; split into A and B. I’m in 1A too. There’s forty three, now forty four of us and about twenty of us are boarders. Lunch is between twelve and two, depending on your Year and dinner is between five and seven, after lessons.” Sapphire explained as she pointed to the piece of paper pinned to the pinboard above the desk. “This is my timetable so your’s will be the same.”

Honour took the sheet and examined the subjects. Most of them were subjects she had been taught at her previous school. “Literature, Maths, Science, History, Geography, Art, Design & Technology, PE, ICT, Music, Home Economics, Religion, Dornish, Valyrian?! They teach that here?”

“Yeah, it’s really hard.” Sapphire agreed. It was probably her least favourite subject along with Maths. “But the teacher’s really nice.”

“Do we have like a form teacher or a Year Head?” Honour asked; she was trying to think of those stupid girls-at-boaridng-school books she read as a child; The Triplets at St Catelyn's or Riverrun Towers. What did they have? Mistresses? Professors?

“Yeah, Miss Tyrell, the headmistress’ granddaughter is our form teacher. She’s really nice but tough. Like you can’t get anything past her so it’s better to own up if you’ve done something wrong.” Sapphire explained. “But the First and Second Year Head, Mr Seaworth is so cool; he’s really chilled out and just let’s you get on with it. He’s also the DT teacher so we have him on Wednesday after lunch.”

“OK,” Honour replied looking at the list of teachers. Miss Tyrell also taught History it seemed. In all the confusion over her roommate, she had almost forgotten the school aspect of boarding school. Lessons, classes, teachers, homework… “This is too much to take in.”

“I can imagine.” Sapphire said carefully. It was too much for her and that was without the adjustment to school. “If you want, when you’re unpacked, I can show you around the school?”

“OK,” Honour replied as Sapphire sat on her bed and opened the book again. Honour busied herself by tidying away her clothes and unpacking the books, toiletries and trinkets she had taken from home. Some of them, such as her Lannisport United pennant were pinned onto the board. After about an hour and a half, she had finished unpacking and checked her watch. Dinner had started almost an hour ago and Sapphire was still sitting on her bed, now listening to music, waiting for her. 

“Sapphire! Sapphire!” Honour called and Sapphire removed an earbud. “Can you show me where the canteen is?”

“Sure, it’s the food hall. Not to be confused with the sports hall or assembly hall or concert hall or exam hall.” Sapphire explained as Honour raised her eyebrows. In her old school, the same hall was used for assemblies, performances and exams. She knew the Highgarden campus was huge but she was almost certain to get lost now. 

The two girls left the dorm room, Honour only realising as the door shut that she’d forgotten her key and the two of them walked down the hall together. The first year rooms were spread across one floor of the dormitories with the second and third year dormitories above them. On the ground floor of that wing were the common rooms and study rooms. The older students were in a separate, larger wing with more study rooms and space. Then there were the different classrooms in different departments, computer rooms, art, design and home economics departments, the gym, the sports hall, the dance studio, the pool, the tennis courts, the drama theatre, the music rooms, the enormous library, the science laboratories and the various halls; Honour’s head was spinning. She felt like she needed a map or a sign post to help her know where everything was. 

“This is like a maze.” Honour said wearily. “How come they have all of this but there’s like forty girls in a year? Isn’t that like barely three hundred of us?”

“It is but the older girls all pick different subjects for their Fifth and Seventh Year exams, plus the best school in the whole of Westeros needs the best.” Sapphire quipped and Honour smirked slightly. She supposed it was true, for all the money that got thrown at Highgarden, they had to show off that wealth. 

“So how did you wind up here? Did your parents ship you off too?” Honour asked as they walked towards the food hall. 

“Kind of the opposite. At the end of primary school, my principal told my mum that she thought I had the potential to get a scholarship. I applied, took the entrance exam and yeah, couldn’t turn down a seven year scholarship to Highgarden.” Sapphire explained. She didn’t feel embarrassed about being on a scholarship. There were many girls at her school who came from very wealthy families and knew it. Snobs were unavoidable at Highgarden but her mother had always told her to keep her head high.

“Wow,” Honour replied, feeling momentarily guilty for her tantruming over the previous weeks. There had to be dozens of girls all over Westeros who would have given their arm for a chance to be in Highgarden. “So your surname’s Tarth, is that where you’re from?”

“Yeah, I lived there my whole life. It’s probably my favourite place in the world. We live by the sea and it’s so beautiful.” Sapphire smiled. “Mum says that’s why she named me Sapphire. She said the seas were the most beautiful in the world.”

“If it makes you feel any better; if I was being named after where my dad was from, I’d be Rocky or Casterly. Even Honour sounds better than that.” Honour quipped and Sapphire laughed. 

“So is that where you’re from? I saw the Lannisport United stuff.” Sapphire asked and Honour shook her head. 

“Nah, Dad and I support them but I grew up in Kings Landing. It’s pretty cool.” Honour replied. Kings Landing was home; the bustling streets, the mixture of modern and classic; the Sept of Baelor, the Red Keep, the shops and cinemas and of course, the beach.

“I’ve never been, I’d love to go someday.” Sapphire said as they walked into the food hall. It wasn’t as busy as usual, some of the girls had already eaten, others wouldn’t arrive until later and half the students weren’t boarders so wouldn’t return to school until tomorrow anyway. However as they found a table to sit at, a handful of First Year girls did a double take at the sight of them together. The double takes turned to stares which turned to whispers which turned into stares. Clearly their physical resemblance had not gone unnoticed. Although none of the girls spoke to them directly, they could hear the debates, questions and confused remarks of the girls. 

“This is weirding me out.” Honour admitted. She wanted to make a flippant remark but even she couldn’t find anything to say. At least, not until they knew for definite. After all, it was absurd. It was impossible. 

And yet…

“Yeah, let’s go back.” Sapphire said as they quickly finished their dinner and returned to their room. Once the door was shut and locked; it was finally time to address the elephant in the room. 

“OK, let’s start with the obvious. When’s your birthday?” Honour asked. 

“I turned twelve on October 11th.” Sapphire replied and the stunned look on Honour’s face meant she already knew what she was thinking. “And so did you.”

“Yeah. But that doesn’t mean anything. Sure we look alike and have the same birthday but so what? It’s not like your parents divorced when you were a baby and you haven’t seen your mum since.” Honour said and Sapphire shook her head. 

“No. It was my dad who left.” Sapphire whispered and they could feel themselves inching towards the truth. “And your mum who left your dad.”

“Yeah it was. I don’t even know anything about her. Just that she’s really tall and has beautiful blue eyes like mine.” Honour explained and Sapphire swallowed.  _ Her _ mum was really tall and had beautiful blue eyes. Just like her and Honour. 

“H-how do you know that?” Sapphire asked finally and Honour reached for the zipped compartment of her smaller suitcase. She rummaged around and pulled out a small box and opened it. Carefully, she held half of a torn photograph in her hand.

“This, it’s the only photo I have of her and it’s ripped.” Honour said as Sapphire turned and pulled open her bedside drawer. Unlocking her journal, she unfolded half of a torn photograph.

“This is the only photo of my dad. And it’s ripped too.” Sapphire said and Honour felt her heart bound madly in her chest.

“Right down the middle?” Honour asked.

“Right down the middle.” Sapphire confirmed. 

“So we’re identical, we have the same birthday, I was raised by my dad. You were raised by your mum. I have a photo of my mum. You have a photo of your dad.” Honour said and Sapphire continued the train of thought.

“So either these are two halves of a whole or this is the freakiest set of coincidences in history.” Sapphire said and steeled herself. “On three. One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

At the same time, they handed their half of a photograph to the other and their mouths fell open in stunned shock. This was it. There was no denying it any longer. They knew the image of the person frozen in place in the photograph. 

“That’s my mum!”

“That’s my dad!”

Without another word, they turned and held the two halves together; showing the full image of a beaming Jaime Lannister and Brienne Tarth on their wedding day, beaming beneath a Weirwood tree; looking young, happy and madly in love. Their hands trembled and the photograph shook between them as the full truth came to them.

“So if your mum is  _ my _ mum-”

“And my dad is  _ your _ dad-”

“And we’re both born on October 11th; that means that we’re sisters.” Honour said in disbelief as a tearful Sapphire shook her head.

“Honour, we’re twins!” Sapphire said as both of them hugged each other and began to cry; overwhelmed with the realisation that they were a twin crashed over them. There was so much to take in, so many questions to ask, so many stories to share but there was one more important than any other…

Why had neither of their parents ever told them?


	3. More questions, fewer answers

“I wish they’d stop staring!” Sapphire sighed as the twins walked to their History classroom. All morning, the other girls had been staring, pointing and whispering at them. She wasn’t used to being the centre of attention and she knew it had been worse for Honour. Not only was she the new girl; she was identical to Sapphire and was the cousin of the girl who had dropped out to run away with her boyfriend. 

“Can’t blame them.” Honour shrugged. She was used to people staring when she and her Uncle Tyrion went anywhere. Even if they hadn’t recognised the famous author, they would stare at his height. She was running his words through her head all day.  _ Never forget what you are, wear it like armour and it will never be used to hurt you. _ The other Highgarden girls thought she was weird, well, the situation she found herself in was undeniably weird. 

The twins had had barely any time to discuss it today. After spending most of the previous evening and well into the night comparing life stories, hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes, favourite movies, music, TV shows, colours, books and wondering how their parents had managed to keep them apart for a dozen years; they had fall asleep with racing minds and this morning, were then bombarded with the education aspect of boarding school. 

The lessons themselves weren’t too challenging for Honour. Her previous school was admittedly, a very good grammar school in Kings Landing and she was quite bright; so the work didn’t make her feel like an imbecile. It was more the stares and the constant scrummage of girls chatting, gossiping, giggling and roaming the corridors. Not a single boy in sight. Some of the other girls had been interested to hear about her experiences at a mixed school; even if the majority of boys in her year were more focused on lighting their farts on fire or having burping contests to even be considered attractive. 

“I still don’t like it.” Sapphire admitted, wishing she could hide behind her hair. Then again, had it been any other girl who returned from the Spring holidays with a random doppelganger; she’d have stared at them too. 

“They’ll get used to it.” Honour replied as they reached the History classroom and took their seats. History was one of her favourite subjects and when she realised they were learning about the War of the Five Kings; she was even more engaged. Her dad had studied History at university before he went into the police and he watched every documentary on the War of the Five Kings. Beside her, Sapphire was also listening intently, especially as the topic turned to the experiences of Ser Goldenhand and the Blue Maiden; two of the most famous warriors from the War of the Five Kings. 

_ Mum loves the Blue Maiden and Ser Goldenhand.  _ Sapphire scribbled on a scrap of paper and showed Honour who beamed and scribbled a response.

_ So does Dad! Maybe that was how they met? _

_ Possibly? Mum went to the University of Winterfell and studied Journalism. _

_ That’s where Dad studied History! They must have met there! _

_ It’s a st _

“Sapphire, Honour, am I interrupting something?” Miss Tyrell asked, as she raised an arched eyebrow at them. Her sharp hazel eyes watched them with a flicker of amusement as Sapphire’s hand clenched the note tightly. 

“No Miss Tyrell.” The two chorused and shared a look. A look and thought that was shared by the entire class. That had been freaky. Margarey Tyrell shook her head and continued on with the lesson. Grandmother had been right, those two girls were fascinating indeed…

When the lessons had finished and they had eaten their dinner, the girls returned to their dorm room to set down their bags and books and were finally able to talk properly without being overheard. Honour lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling as Sapphire looked at the sellotaped photograph of their parents that they had set on the windowsill between their beds. There had to be someone they could ask. Someone who knew something about their parents but also someone who wouldn’t tell their parents. There had to be a reason why their parents had kept them apart; why Jaime and Brienne had point blank refused to even mention the other or the fact that they were twins. Someone had to know something. 

“I wish we could ask someone.” Sapphire said. “I can’t ask Mum; she’d freak out and probably withdraw me from school.”

“Dad might do the same.” Honour replied. It was weird, this time yesterday she would have given her right hand to have been withdrawn from school. If so much could change in twenty four hours, what else could change?

“Grandad’s never told me anything. Not even said anything that would hint to it. I thought he told me everything.” Sapphire mused and Honour sat up on her bed.

“I thought the same about Dad or Uncle Tyrion. But not even Grandfather’s mentioned it and he always nags Dad about finding a wife and settling down. And Aunt Cersei loves to throw insults but even they never said anything.” Honour said as she racked her brains, trying to think of who she could speak to. Her dad, Grandfather, aunt and uncles were out. She never spoke to Joffrey if she could, even before he shipped off to the army. Myrcella had blocked all of their numbers when she ran away and Tommen couldn’t keep a secret for five second before he blabbed to Aunt Cersei. There was no way she could write to him without Aunt Cersei finding out. In fact, there were none of her Lannister relatives she would be able to speak to without it getting back to Grandfather or Aunt Cersei. 

“What about your cousins?” Sapphire asked and Honour shook her head. 

“One’s in the army, one’s cut off contact and one would just blab to my aunt and uncle.” Honour said as a flash of inspiration hit her. “Wait! Shireen! Shireen would know! She’s Uncle Robert’s niece from his Baratheon side!”

“Shireen Baratheon? The Head Girl?” Sapphire asked and Honour leapt to her feet.

“Yes! I can’t believe I didn’t think of her before! She texted me over the break offering me advice but I was still pissed about coming here so I ignored it. I forgot she was here!” Honour explained. She hadn’t seen Shireen since the last family get together, Myrcella’s eighteenth birthday last summer. They only really saw each other at Lannister family get togethers; which both her dad and Shireen’s dad tried to avoid as much as possible to varying degrees of success. 

“Would she know about Mum and Dad then?” Sapphire asked before reminding herself of who Shireen Baratheon was. Aside from the Head Girl, she was undoubtedly the smartest student at Highgarden. She aced every exam with top marks and had even sat some of her Fifth and Seventh Year exams early to allow her to study for all of them. Shireen Baratheon was an undisputed genius. If anyone knew anything, she would.

“I know she would. She would have been about six when we were born.” Honour said as she grabbed Sapphire’s arm. “Come on, let’s see if we can find her.”

The two girls hurried from the dormitories and through the school, searching for Shireen. She wasn’t in the dinner hall and they checked the library, study rooms and classrooms before turning for the senior girls dormitories. The younger students didn’t tend to go towards the senior dormitories; an untold measure of respect for the older girls and an understanding of keeping away from the older girls. As they glanced into one of the senior common rooms, they found Shireen sitting on a sofa engrossed in a copy of  _ The Dance of Dragons _ .

“Shireen? Can we have a word?” Honour called. Shireen glanced up at them, looked back at her book and shut it. She didn’t look surprised and instead smiled wryly at them. 

“I knew this would happen someday.” Shireen sat as she led them up to her room. Once the door was closed, the twins stood awkwardly until Shireen gestured for them to sit on the bed as she sat by her book-covered desk. “So, what do you want to know?”

“Well, what do you know? We only met yesterday.” Honour explained. “Why didn’t Dad or Grandfather or anyone ever say anything?”

“They all swore not to tell you until your dad did. I’ll be honest, there’s very little I know. Dad always said it wasn’t really any of our business.” Shireen explained, her fingers tracing over her Greyscale scars as she brushed her hair behind her ear. “All I really know is that your parents got married really young, had you two and the next thing I knew, my dad was telling me that I wasn’t allowed to say you were a twin. I wasn’t allowed to ask any questions and he wouldn’t explain anything. It was around the time I got sick so yeah....”

“Thanks,” Sapphire said. It wasn’t much but at least they knew they were definitely on the right path. It seemed like everyone in their lives had lied to them. But they still didn’t understand why. Yes, divorce was complicated. Yes, divorced couples found it awkward to communicate. But why raise your twins separately at different parts of the country and never tell them a thing?

“I’m sorry guys; if I knew more, I would tell you. I know they had a reason but I wasn’t told what that reason was.” Shireen explained and Honour nodded.

“Well, thanks anyway Shireen.” Honour smiled. Even though they weren’t technically cousins, Shireen had always been nice to her. Better than her other cousins sometimes. 

“Anytime. I’ll see you around school.” Shireen said and although she didn’t say anything else; the conversation was clearly over.  Together Honour and Sapphire left her room and wandered back towards their dormitory. There wasn’t much to go on but at least they had some concrete facts to work off of. 

Brienne and Jaime had met at university. 

They had been young when they married; both were thirty four which meant they had been no older than twenty two when the twins had been born. 

Something had happened to cause them to divorce. If they found that out then maybe they could come to an understanding. 

It wasn’t much, even when they said it to one another as they got ready for bed. Shireen had given them a tiny bit of information but it still left them with more questions than answers. What had happened to their parents? What had torn them apart? Why had they kept Honour and Sapphire apart? Why had they never seen or spoken to one another for so many years? Why had they never gotten married again, or even had a serious relationship? 

Once they were in their pajamas and lay in bed with the lamp off; the conversation turned from their usual questions to talking about their parents. Jaime’s work as a police officer, Brienne’s as a journalist. Jaime’s travels around Westeros helping Tyrion with research for his book. Brienne’s experience in the Nymeric Games. Funny stories of long gone Sevenmas holidays, birthday parties, trips to the zoo, the beach, the cinema. The little quirks and tidbits such as Jaime only being able to drink coffee he had made himself or Brienne leaving notebooks and scraps of paper everywhere in case she needed to write something down. Although the stories were a comfort, both Honour and Sapphire knew it was no substitute for the real thing. 

“I wish we could talk to them without letting them know that we know.” Sapphire said as they lay in the semi-darkness. If she could just speak to her dad, hear Jaime’s voice, that would be enough for her. 

“I have so many questions for Mum,” Honour sighed wistfully. Aside from the ones about their dad, she just wanted to speak to her mum, just one conversation, one hug… if Honour could just have that then she’d be happy. Even though Honour knew it was impossible. 

Or was it?

Honour shot upright and turned to Sapphire as the greatest brainwave she had ever had in her life hit her. 

“I have the most brilliant beyond brilliant idea!”


	4. The most brilliant, beyond brilliant idea

“What?” Sapphire asked tiredly as she propped herself up on her elbow. In the bed next to her, Honour was shaking with excitement as her brain flashed with idea after idea. If this worked… if they pulled this off… this would be the greatest thing either of them had ever done!

“You want to meet Dad, right?” Honour asked and Sapphire nodded.

“Of course,” Sapphire replied as Honour beamed at her.

“And I’m dying to know Mum! So I was thinking, don’t freak out, but I was thinking we could switch places! When school finishes for Summer, I’ll go back to Tarth as you and you go to King’s Landing as me!” Honour explained, her body trembling with joy and anticipation. Sapphire sat up properly in bed and flicked on the lamp. 

“Are you mad?” Sapphire asked. “We only met yesterday. How could we do that?”

“Sapphire, we’re twins. Identical twins! We could do this!” Honour explained as she smoothed her hair behind her ears. “We have two months of school before summer; that’s more than enough time! I can teach you to be me, you teach me to be you.”

“But let’s be real. We won’t be able to keep it up all summer. Eventually Mum and Dad will figure it out and…” Sapphire trailed off as she realised why Honour had called it a brilliant idea. It was so simple, of course it was brilliant. “Switch us back.”

“And to switch us back, they would have to meet again. Face to face.” Honour prompted and Sapphire beamed at her.

“After all these years.” Sapphire added dreamily. If their parents’ initial marriage had been a whirlwind, as Shireen had explained, then their reunion would undoubtedly lead to another whirlwind romance. One that would last this time. 

“Like I said. Brilliant.” Honour said as they heard footsteps echo down the corridor. The twins slid back under their duvets and waited for the footsteps to pass. Once they were certain the room checks had been done, Sapphire flicked on the lamp again. 

“Alright, so what’s the plan?”

Over the next few weeks, the twins juggled their lessons, social activities with their classmates and homework with teaching one another about their lives. The rest of the girls had acknowledged the weird similarities between the two but none tended to pry further, neither Sapphire nor Honour said anything publicly about being related and would deflect the question when raised. They started with the basic information about close family members who the other would be in close contact with; the layout of their family homes before progressing onto mimicking one another’s behaviours. They took it in turns to observe the other, notice little quirks in behaviour and idioms in their speech. 

It took a lot of practice and effort but as the summer term progressed, they began to pick up the little quirks and habits of the other, they copied one another’s speech patterns and dialects, memorised information about their lives before attending Highgarden. In between the lessons and planning how they would spend time with their parents and learn about how Jaime and Brienne fell for each other and why they separated; they would have phone calls from Jaime and Brienne. Every single time, the twins managed not to reveal to their parents about their reunion and the information they knew, even resorting to using code names when referring to the other. As far as Jaime knew, Honour’s roommate and new best friend was called Alys and Brienne had been told all about Mya; Sapphire’s new roommate. As the end of June approached, there was one final obstacle to overcome before they could commence their plan.

“Are you sure about this?” Sapphire asked nervously as Honour held a large, sharp pair of scissors in her hand.

“It has to be done, the plan goes into action on Saturday. I can’t grow my hair in time for that.” Honour replied as she looked at her sister. As beautiful as Sapphire’s long hair was, it was now a hindrance to their plan. It would give the game away instantly. Sapphire screwed her eyes shut and nodded.

“OK, do it.” Sapphire said. Honour measured the length of her own fringe before measuring the same with Sapphire’s. As she held the hair between her fingers, Honour instinctively shut her eyes. “Don’t shut your eyes!”

“Sorry!” Honour apologised. “Just nervous.”

“You’re nervous!” Sapphire snapped. “A twelve year old is cutting my hair!”

“Hey, you sounded just like me.” Honour quipped and Sapphire smiled proudly.

“Well I’m supposed to.” Sapphire reminded and shut her eyes. “Just do it.”

Honour took the hair between her fingers and managed to snip the strands of hair. Sapphire whimpered nervously but kept still, allowing Honour to cut her hair. Each snip of the scissors removed inches of golden hair but now that the task had begun, there had been no turning back. Honour offered encouragement as she snipped, trimmed and brushed Sapphire’s hair. Finally the task was done, Honour set the fallen locks and the scissors onto the dresser before helping Sapphire stand in front of the mirror. As the twins stared into the mirror, now completely identical to the last detail, Sapphire touched the ends of her now shoulder-length hair in stunned shock.

“This, is so scary,” Sapphire breathed as she looked at their reflection. Beside her, Honour grinned and playfully waved a hand.

“Honey, you never looked better.” Honour quipped as they studied their reflections. Now they were identical to the very last detail. “Good thing Dad never let me get my ears pierced.”

Sapphire winced and covered her ears, imaging the pain of a botched piercing. “Definitely.” 

Two days later, Honour and Sapphire stood with the rest of the students who were waiting in the Assembly Hall. The end of term departures was a well-organised chaos of girls running around exchanging hugs, farewells and promises to see one another over the summer. Honour had Sapphire’s suitcases and in the front pocket of her backpack was Sapphire’s passport and plane ticket from Hightower to Tarth. Sapphire had Honour’s suitcases and in her school bag was the first class train ticket from Highgarden South Station to Kings Landing Central. In between the students being collected by their parents or drivers to those who were to be taken via coach to the airport or train station.

“What time is your flight?” Sapphire asked Honour as Miss Tyrell began calling for the airport bound students to come to her. 

“It’s at half one, so I should be in Tarth for five. What time does your train get in?” Honour replied as she heard Miss Tyrell call Sapphire’s name.

“It won’t be until about seven. You need to go. Remember you’re finding out what their relationship was like.” Sapphire reminded.

“And you’re finding out why they split up.” Honour finished as they quickly hugged one another tightly. “I’ll text you tomorrow. Hug Dad for me.”

“And Mum for me.” Sapphire replied as Honour grabbed the handles of the cases and hurried to join the other girls who were getting the coach to the airport. The majority of the girls were students from Dorne, Winterfell or Essos; all of them excitedly talking about the summer holidays and returning home. As the coach drove away from Highgarden, Honour felt nerves and excitement crash over her. This was it. She was going to Tarth. She was going to meet her mother.

Less than two hours later, Sapphire was boarding the train to Kings Landing. As she took her seat in first class, ignoring the strange and judgemental looks the other passengers, most of whom looked like strict businessmen, Sapphire looked at the ticket on the table in front of her. Her stomach twisted with nerves and excitement as the train pulled away from the station. This was it. She was going to Kings Landing. She was going to meet her father. 

There was no turning back now. 


	5. Reunions

“Attention passengers, we have landed in Tarth, ten minutes ahead of schedule. The local time is 4:50pm and the temperature is a pleasant twenty degrees celsius. We ask you to remain in your seats until the aircraft has come to a complete stop and the seatbelt sign has been switched off. Thank you for flying with Drogon Airlines.”

Honour unbuckled her seatbelt and stared out the window. The sky was clear and on the ground she could see airport staff preparing the plane for them to disembark. The other passengers were unbuckling seatbelts, stretching, reaching for hand luggage and soothing unhappy children. Honour’s heart was pounding madly in her chest as the passengers were finally allowed to disembark from the plane. As they walked down the air tunnel from the plane into the airport, she felt her stomach twist with nerves and her heart leap with excitement as her hands clenched nervously on the straps of her backpack. The baggage collection was the last part of customs and border control and as Honour walked towards the luggage carousel, her gaze flickered towards the doors which some passengers were already walking through. 

Her mother was just beyond those doors. Everything she had dreamed of for the past twelve years was just a few metres away. As the carousel rumbled into life, Honour ducked through the crowd and grabbed both of her cases before they could slip away and turned towards the doors. With one last glance to ensure she hadn’t dropped anything, Honour took a deep breath and walked through the doors. 

The arrivals lounge of the airport was crowded with people. Passengers were greeting relatives, relatives were craning their necks trying to spot their travelling loved ones. Honour turned her head, trying to find the face she had studied for years, the one she had waited a lifetime to see. A loud, rowdy group of Knight’s Watch FC fans stampeded past her and Honour found herself looking directly at Brienne Tarth.

“Mum!” Honour called as Brienne beamed at her and rushed to the edge of the railing, separating the passengers from their families. Brienne held open her arms and Honour crashed into them, hugging as tightly as she could. She was as tall, beautiful and wonderful as Sapphire had described and as they hugged, Brienne pressed a kiss onto the top of her head.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Brienne said as she stepped back and looked at her teary-eyed daughter. “What’s wrong?”

“I just really missed you.” Honour said as Brienne hugged her again.

“It’s been too long,” Brienne said and Honour nodded to herself. She had no idea just how long it was. “And you’ve cut your hair!”

“Yeah, Mya cut it for me, her mum’s a hairdresser. Do you like it?” Honour asked, Brienne herself had her wavy blonde hair cut into a bob and she smiled as she stroked Honour’s hair. 

“It suits you,” Brienne smiled as she took one of her suitcases. “No other surprises I should know about? Piercings? Tattoos?” 

“None at all,” Honour lied; there was no way she was letting the big surprise slip five minutes into meeting her mother. They had twelve years worth of catching up to do. 

Forty minutes later, after getting out of the airport and rush hour traffic, Brienne pulled up outside of the Tarth family home; a large townhouse just outside the city centre. In the journey home and their conversation about school, Brienne’s work and Grandpa Selwyn, Honour felt more settled in her role as Sapphire. Brienne gave no inclination that she suspected a thing and Honour was enjoying the time with her mother. As Honour got out of the car and together they brought the suitcases inside, she glanced around at the interior decoration of the hall. 

“Dad? We’re back.” Brienne called and smiled at Honour. “He’s probably in the study.” 

Recalling the floor plan from Sapphire’s description, Honour walked into the study and found a figure sitting behind an oaken desk, hidden behind a copy of the  _ Westeros Telegraph. _ As she cleared her throat, the newspaper wrinkled as Selwyn Tarth set the newspaper down and beamed at her. He was as tall as Brienne and strongly built, despite being the same age as her Grandfather Tywin. Selwyn stepped out from behind the desk and held out his arms. 

“Come here you,” Selwyn called playfully as Honour darted forward. 

“Granddad!” Honour said happily and hugged him tightly. Grandfather Tywin was never this open and affectionate and she couldn’t recall such a warm hug from a grandparent. As they hugged, a scent filled her nose and she inhaled deeply.

“What are you doing?” Selwyn asked curiously as Honour thought quickly. 

“I just missed you and I’m making a memory.” Honour replied. “When I’m older and I’ve my own children. I can tell them about my Granddad and how he always smelt of… peppermint and pipe tobacco.”

“Well they definitely teach poetry at that school.” Selwyn joked as Brienne smiled at them. As much as she missed Sapphire when she was at school; it made the return home a lot sweeter to see her so happy and confident in herself. 

“Well, tell us all about it. What about Mya?” Brienne prompted and Honour smiled as she considered. 

“She was getting the train home this afternoon,” Honour began as she wondered where exactly her sister was now. 

“We are now arriving at Kings Landing Central where this service terminates. Please take all personal belongings with you and mind the gap between the train and the platform edge.”

The automatic tannoy played as the train pulled into the station. Sapphire remained in her seat and waited for the other passengers to leave the carriage before she went to fetch her cases and stepped off of the train. The station was busy and the other passengers swarmed towards the ticket barriers. Sapphire mixed in with the crowd and soon got waved through the barriers along with her luggage. As she walked across the concourse, Sapphire glanced at her phone. The last text from Jaime told her that he would meet her outside of Burger Khal’s on the concourse. She spotted the sign for the fastfood chain and her heart beat faster as she walked towards the restaurant. There was a queue of customers waiting but leaning casually against the wall that divided it from a newsagents’ was a tall, handsome man with golden hair and a wide grin on his face as he spotted her. 

“Honour!” Jaime called as his cool, relaxed air was replaced with overwhelming excitement at being reunited with his daughter. Jaime dashed through the crowd and hugged her tightly, picking her up from the floor with the force of the hug.

“Dad!” Sapphire said joyfully as she hugged him back. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” Jaime said as he put an arm around her and took one of her cases by the handle and wheeled it behind them. “I hope you really did hate it at Highgarden because I never want to send you back.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Sapphire smiled as Jaime turned and looked at her curiously. “What?”

“There’s something different about you, I can’t put my finger on it.” Jaime said and shook his head, grinning at her. “You’ve gotten taller, that’s it.”

“Yeah,” Sapphire beamed as they walked towards the car park. Jaime’s black Balerian was parked and they set the suitcases into the backseat of the car. As they drove through the city, Sapphire watched the landmarks of Kings Landing speed past her as they drove towards the house. 

“Tyrion’s coming around for dinner. He can’t wait to see you.” Jaime said as they waited at a traffic light. 

“I can’t wait to see him, I missed him too.” Sapphire replied; she knew she would have to curtail her excitement at meeting Tyrion. Not only was he her uncle, he was also her favourite writer and had been for years. Honour had also advised her that Tyrion was the cleverest member of the family and if anyone was likely to see through their ruse, it would be him. 

“We all missed you, it’s not been the same,” Jaime admitted before he cleared his throat awkwardly and smiled at her. “What about your friend Alys? Has she gone home?”

“Yeah, she travelled this morning.” Sapphire lied easily as she watched the city flash past them. “I really missed you Dad.”

“I missed you too, I didn’t want to send you to Highgarden but maybe it had been a good thing. You seem a lot more confident and a bit more mature. You forgive me for sending you?” Jaime asked sincerely. 

“Yeah I do,” Sapphire replied. Had Jaime not sent Honour to Highgarden, they would have never met and discovered about their family. Maybe it had all happened, like fate or destiny. “I mean, it wasn’t all bad. I didn’t have to see Aunt Cersei for a few months.”

Jaime laughed heartily. “Well, your aunt is… something different but between you and me, Myrcella eloping seemed to humble her a bit. Also, this stays between us because it’s early days but Myrcella is pregnant. Cersei isn’t taking being a grandmother well.”

“Myrcella’s pregnant? Wait, has she been in contact? I’ve not heard a thing from her.” Sapphire explained. She and Honour had switched phones and social media accounts and even after more than two months, there had been no word from Myrcella. They made the decision not to say anything to her, even online. Despite Myrcella having cut off contact, they couldn’t have risked any of the Lannisters finding out, had she decided to contact them. A decision, it now seemed, they’d taken wisely. 

“She called Tyrion first. Cersei isn’t happy but she seems happy and Trystane is taking good care of her. She’s hoping to come home soon when they get time off of work.” Jaime explained as they drove out of the city centre. The streets were becoming more suburbanised and Sapphire kept an eye out for their home. Beside her, Jaime smiled to himself. He was overjoyed to have his daughter home. The past few months had been difficult for him and he was amazed at the changes in her. She seemed different, taller, more confident but some things were still the same. She still had the same dazzling blue eyes and brightening smile of her mother. 

“Looks like Tyrion’s already here.” Jaime said as he noticed the light on in the front room. As usual, it seemed Tyrion had ordered a taxi to Jaime’s house; usually by the end of the evening, he was too drunk to drive anyway. Jaime and Sapphire lifted the cases out of the car and Jaime opened the front door. “Tyrion! We’re home!”

“It’s about time,” A feminine voice that was definitely not Tyrion’s said from the living room. The split second flicker of annoyance that flashed across Jaime’s face told Sapphire exactly who was waiting for them in the living room. 

Cersei. 


End file.
